Every new day in Rwanda is the promise of something fresh and exciting, the continuity of our schedules combined with the possibilities of new and pleasantly unexpected beauty, adventures and relationships.
Our day began sleepily, with much needed rest and downtime. The plan for the day consisted of a supply run into town and an afternoon tour of churches and communities to better understand their needs for water.
The team made a mid-morning drive into the ‘downtown’ of Byumba. At the local flea market, we procured our needed supplies to fulfill our increasingly full week of new clean water training with the community development trainers. The market teemed with red dust, vibrant colors and pungent smells, all magnified in the late morning sun. An elderly beggar beseeched us for money. Children, a constant presence wherever we went, stared at us, fascinated by these strange ‘muzungos’, and laughed at our attempts at their language. Waterfalls of used clothing, from well-worn American shorts and jeans to European dress shirts and shoes, hung from the market stalls, competing with Indian toothpaste and soaps. Soon we had our matches, string and soap for the tippy-taps and we were off again.
The leisurely pace of Rwandan life is still a pleasant but unexpected change from our Western ways. As we met up with Pastors Elson (a wonderful man with a wicked sense of humor) and Emmanuel, we realized - yet again - how humane these people are. The Open Doors church, led by Pastor Brutus, a dear, gentle, kind man, who has come through the unimaginable horrors of the genocide with amazing grace, was typical of the beauty with which life is shared here. Stripped down to its barest essentials, Rwandan life is relational to the core. The churches we visited, to better understand the needs of the community, were of the same cloth. No pretense, no defenses or explanations, simply a desire to share their hearts and smiles with the rest of the world and their neighbors.
We came to the Pentecostal church where Megan and I were honored to speak at yesterday (in keeping with true Pentecostal tradition, I had been sorely tempted to show off my John Travolta disco moves, but decided that Rwanda had already suffered enough). Pastor Dominick was a gracious host and explained how the water for the community could be so easily collected from the massive roof. Yet, there was so much to be done. So much need, so much promise. But always hope.
The water collection abilities of these communities are small, yet the need is so great. The Nazarene church pastors, just down the street, told of how their attempts to make a cistern had been stymied by various circumstances. For this team, the dilemma of how to provide the benefits of clean water o these people while adhering to the tenets of P.E.A.C.E. was made crystal clear. How can we help them? What is the greatest need? Expertise? Capital? Hard supplies? We knew it would have to be plans formulated to best utilize the resources of the wider world with the local knowledge and will of the people of Byumba.
The day ended with a quiet, early evening coffee in the gazebo of our Anglican guesthouse. The night air was warm and sweet and Kenny Rogers (who seems to be a minor national icon) blared from the speakers. Pastor Elson joined us for some good conversation and hearty laughs. Johnny told to Elson of his love for ‘Cowboy Coffee’. ” ‘Black coffee’ is NOT an acceptable phrase in Africa!” Elson heartily teased Johnny. A wonderful woman named Hildegard, joined us. She explained her great work with an organization helping HIV infected peoples. A few minutes later, a baboon that had been lurking on the rooftops of our guesthouse, gave Cindy a near heart attack as it rattled off the steel roof and landed with a massive thud on the walkway, screeching and scurrying off towards the kitchen. At suppertime at a nearby hotel, our wonderful interpreter Emmanuel was fully inducted into the American way of life when Johnny got him, in his best New Jersey accent, to imitate the phrase “Not fer nothing, but just FUHGETTABOUTIT!” Poor Emmanuel. He’s a true Jersey Shore fan now.
On a personal level, I love these people. But I have grown to like them as well. Such friendships are what make the distance between us, both geographically and culturally, seem insignificant.
Peter
